The Classics

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  (Hebrews 13:8)

Most of my friends know that I am an avid thrift store shopper.  Even before my sister-in-law turned me into a thrift store junkie about ten years ago, I purchased gently used classic designer clothing through a friend.  There are some great thrift stores in Southern California.  Celebrities and others who spend mountains of cash on designer clothes donate their gently-used clothing to thrift shops run by their favorite charities.  I would much rather wear a twenty or thirty-year old elegantly designed Chanel suit, made with superior fabric and workmanship than a comparably priced average quality new one.  Our daughter wears a classic hooded midi wool jersey dress that I bought when I was 23 years of age, and other clothes that I made or purchased more than twenty-five years ago.  One of my friends wears treasured classic pieces of jewelry and a leather purse worn by her European ancestors over a hundred years ago.

Our interest in classic items extends beyond clothing to cars, furniture, accessories, books, and you-name-it.  We are drawn to classics because they stand the test of time.  One of the reasons that I am drawn to the truths of Christianity is that they have stood the test of time.

The author of Hebrews writes, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).[1]  More than a thousand years earlier, King David had written, “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forever more” (Psalm 131:3).  Unlike classic clothing and other material things that will eventually disintegrate, God never changes. God’s truths have been the same since the beginning of time and will never change.  One of the definitions of a classic book is a book that with each rereading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading. There are always new ideas and truths to discover in a classic book. Under almost any definition, God’s Word is the quintessential classic that has stood the test of time for thousands of years, and still delights and provides new treasures for those who spend time in its pages.

Among the classic truths in this week’s Scripture texts is the emphasis on humility.  In a song of ascent, David sings, “My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty” (Psalm 131: 1).  The book of Proverbs is filled with warnings against pride, including this gem, “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble” (Proverbs 25: 6).

Jesus echoes that advice in the Gospel lesson: “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14: 8-11).

Humility is a major theme throughout Scripture.  In last week’s Gospel lesson, Jesus warned that in heaven “Some are last that will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Luke 13:30).  It is not your title, position, or the amount of money in your bank account that determines your worthiness before God.  Titles and positions valued by the world are not important to God.  Pride results when we elevate ourselves and look down on others.  God hates the proud. It is the greatest sin.  The more puffed up we are, the more we crave being the center of attention. But humility puts others first.  A humble person is content with his or her circumstances: “I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.  But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content” (Psalm 131: 1b-2).  St. Bernard of Clairovaux said that the four most important virtues are, “Humility, humility, humility, and humility.”

In Chapter 8 of his classic little book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis calls pride “The Great Sin.”  He wrote, “Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind . . .  As long as you are proud you cannot know God.  A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”[2]

Resolve to set your heart and mind on those things that are above—on God’s classic truths.  Resolve to look at others through the prism of God’s eyes–that every person you encounter in your everyday life—at home, at school, at work, at church, in the community, in social situations, and elsewhere, is created in God’s image. Each person is imprinted with God’s stamp, and should be treated accordingly.  It’s a classic truth.

Prayer: Lord, help me keep my eyes fixed on you. Permeate my being with your love, so that I view each person I meet through the prism of your eyes— a person created in your image with unique gifts and talents.  Remove all lingering vestiges of pride from me and guide me to help others who I meet during my faith journey. Amen

Praying the Scriptures:  The Scripture texts for next Sunday are Psalm 131, Proverbs 25:2-10; Hebrews 13:1-17; Luke 14: 1-14.  Choose a word or phrase each day from one of the texts, or from the following excerpts from the texts, to pray during the coming week:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

“O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forever more” (Psalm 131:3).

“My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty” (Psalm 131: 1).

“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble” (Proverbs 25: 6).

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14: 8-11).

“Some are last that will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Luke 13:30, from last week, but addressing the same subject).

“I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.  But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content” (Psalm 131: 1b-2).

Diane Cieslikowski Reagan

[1]The Scripture texts for the Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost are Psalm 131, Proverbs 25:2-10; Hebrews 13:1-17; Luke 14: 1-14.  A version of this blog was published on this website on August 22, 2016.

[2] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1943) McMillan Publishing Company, p. 109-111.